Les dix plaies de « L'Insolation » de Rachid Boudjedra
The ten plagues of "L'Insolation" by Rachid Boudjedra

immersion in "a bottomless sewer"

Author(s): Rym KHERIJI
Subject(s): French Literature, Other Language Literature, Cultural Essay, Philology
Published by: Editura Junimea
Keywords: Open a book; Algerian literature in French; Boudjedra; The sunstroke; Disgust; Catharsis;
Summary/Abstract: “The ten wounds of The sunstroke by Rachid Boudjedra: immersion in "a bottomless sewer"” attempts to interpret the process that begins when reading this novel. Assuming that the choice to read such and such a novel is in itself a threshold that the reader crosses, this threshold appears significantly particular when it comes to a book that stands out in the literary landscape. Reading is taking on the features of a perilous adventure where the exploration of a universe which evokes the “mud” (Musset), the “defilement” (Bataille), “what disturbs” (Kristeva) while arousing them becomes itself "a violent and obscure revolt of the human being against what threatens him" (Kristeva). Writing constructs this process and reading reproduces it, in turn creating patterns that allow immersion in a "bottomless" abyss while resisting vertigo. We therefore tried to establish a communication network, resonances in the musical sense of the term, with another fable, the one which, in the Bible (just like in the Koran for that matter), evokes the divine punishment that falls on Egypt and the Exodus of the Jewish people. This reconstruction confers on the reading one of its characteristics: the "catharsis" (Aristotle). Can we cross the threshold of The sunstroke while remaining unharmed? Doesn't evil breed evil? What remedy for foul mud? This study attempts to answer these and other questions that arise when it comes to an incandescent work.

• Details
• Contents